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Vietnam War
Vietnam War
Vietnam - Backgrounder● French Colony (mid 19th Century -
1954)○ 5 year Japanese occupation (1940-45)
● French Indo-China War lost by French (1945-54)
○ Vietnam gets split into North and South■ North - Communist Nationalists
(Leader - Ho Chi Minh)■ South - Kinda Democracy/Still
French (Leader - Diem)
● Americans offer Aid to the south(military and economic)
○ Asian style Marshall Plan
War Begins● Early 60’s Americans, under JFK, start
sending more troops to defend the south● Containment in Asia is of utmost
importance○ Fear ‘Domino Effect’
■ That if one country falls to communism the rest in Asia would topple
● ‘63 JFK assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson took over
● Johnson firmly committed to S. Vietnam● ‘64 after US battleship was attacked
Johnson started bombing N. Vietnam
Who were they fighting?● Largely people who passionately against
colonial powers● Used communism as a way to garner
support● Army is referred to as the National
Liberation Front (American = Viet Cong)● Lead by Ho Chi Min● Used guerrilla tactics to stage warfare
○ Thought if they didn’t have the strength of the Americans, it was the best strategy
Tet Offensive● Communists invade American positions en
masse○ Do so shortly after top US general had
stated ‘where the end comes to view’○ Giving hope to the end of the war
● Although Americans push back and are successful against the offensive, people were starting to see the hypocrisy on the home front
○ Media and population start turning against the war efforts
US: Conflict on the Home Front
McCarthy & McCarthyism (1947-56)McCarthyism - Practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard to evidence
● Wisconsin Senator, Joseph McCarthy, claimed he had a list of State Department employees who were Soviet communists
● Created a ‘Red Scare’○ Leading to people in soviet to go on a
‘witch hunt’ for communists○ Many teachers, scholars, journalists media
were black listed or lost their job● No evidence was substantial● Highlighted fear and illiberalism on the
homefront
Vietnam War @ Home● Largely after 1964 there was strong
opposition to the war● 25% of the military was brought in by
draft(conscription)○ Lottery was used to draft
■ Rich found loopholes■ Poor served
○ Draft encouraged people to volunteer, as they would get a choice
● Draft and involvement in proxy war, lead to mass demonstrations at home
○ Mostly peaceful○ Some protests violently struck down by
government● By the end of the war only ⅓ thought the
war wasn’t a mistake
Kent State Shooting● Anti-Vietnam and Cambodia protests by
students and other supporters● Threw bottles at police and committed
arson● National guard was called in● Governor stated that protesters were
‘worse than brown shirts’● May 4th, 2000 student protest amid
attempted cancellations● National guard fired on crowd
○ Killing 4 people○ Wounding 9 people
●
End of War● North Vietnam ends up winning the war
and taking the South● America got beat by a developing nation● America was losing popularity for its so
called ‘liberal’ actions
